American Horror Story: Hotel brought ghastly glamour and debonair darkness to a series that was already well known for its innovative use of costumes to tell engaging horror stories. Unlike the seasons before it (Murder House, Asylum, Coven, and Freak Show), Hotel got to blend a variety of eras and take inspiration from many decades of fabulous fashion to dress its main cast. From the 40s silhouettes of the Countess (Lady Gaga) and Mr.March (Evan Peters) to the rhinestone-encrusted 70s caftans of Liz Taylor (Denis O’Hare), season 5 of Ryan Murphy’s hit series was a feast for the eyes.
Longtime costume designer and Murphy collaborator Lou Eyrich and her team spent months researching different periods of clothing, hunting down designer fabrics, and working with the cast themselves to bring every distinct character to life. Check in to the hauntingly beautiful Hotel Cortez and discover 10 hidden details behind the costumes of American Horror Story: Hotel.
The Cast Assisted With The Costume Production
Though much of the beautiful costume design falls to Lou Eyrich and her talented team, the cast had a hand in bringing the magnetic characters of Hotel to life. Evan Peters, who played Mr. March, sent Eyrich photographs of outfits he had in mind for his character.
Denis O’Hare, who played the scene-chewing Liz Taylor, collaborated heavily with Eyrich to come up with his character’s unique look. They would stand side by side in front of a full-length mirror and drape caftans and shawls over O’Hare until the grace and dignity of Liz Taylor emerged.
The Countess Needed To Be Different From Gaga’s Personal Style
While Lady Gaga is certainly a fashionista with her own style, the Countess needed to channel a different iconic aesthetic. For that, Lou Eyrich researched clothing from the 40s to create the dramatic silhouette the Countess is known for. Sweeping capes, extravagant sleeves, and wasp-waisted dresses were required to make her look like a stunning screen siren of Hollywood’s Golden Age.
Armed with pictures of 40s gowns, Eyrich got her hands on coveted fabric from designers like Oscar De La Rente to create outfits like the mint green dress the Countess wears to kill Tristan in front of Liz Taylor. There will only ever be one these outfits.
The Fabric Needed To Hold Up Against The Fake Blood
Each season of American Horror Story seems to get more and more sanguine, with Hotel being no exception. Buckets of fake blood are used in every episode, which can be murder on the fabulous costumes. For that purpose, several versions of each costume, including the Countess’s beautiful gowns needed to be made.
For some, such as her olive green dress in the scene where she murders Tristan, there was only one from a piece of Oscar De La Rente fabric. In that case, all of the fake blood from the scene had to be painstakingly washed out because the dress needed to be used for another scene in the Cortez lobby.
Many Characters’ Costumes Were Based On Real People
Just like the Hotel Cortez is based on a real hotel (the Cecil Hotel) which was home to a number of murders and serial killers, many of the characters in the series are based on real historical figures. James March (played by Evan Peters) is based on H.H. Holmes, a hotelier and serial killer who constructed a hotel specifically to murder guests and get away with it.
The Halloween banquet that Mr. March hosted at the hotel every year also included other real figures responsible for multiple deaths. They included Jeffrey Dahmer, John Wayne Gacy, the Zodiac Killer, and Richard Ramirez aka the Night Stalker. All of the costumes for these real figures had to be designed based on photographs of clothing they actually wore.
The Countess Had Over 65 Original Looks
Ryan Murphy originally had conceived of the Countess being in only a handful of episodes, but soon she was dominating the series as its Queen. He found a powerful dichotomy in Lady Gaga’s desire to push herself as an actress by becoming a character who is truly fearless.
The Countess had over 65 original looks designed for her—composed of costumes by Lou Eyrich—as well as hair and makeup. Eyrich is not a self-professed “stylist,” so she collaborated a lot with Gaga who very much pays attention to what’s “in” and what’s “out.”
Some Clothing Was Reused From Previous Seasons
Ryan Murphy has told fans that all the seasons of American Horror Story are connected, which makes them try to spot references in every new season to the seasons before it. Costume designer Lou Eyrich decided to include callbacks to previous seasons visually by way of recycling some of the wardrobe.
For instance, a necklace worn in Asylum became a belt that the Countess wore in Hotel. A burgundy cardigan in Coven is worn by Alex in Hotel. It not only makes coming up with costumes on short notice easier but works with Ryan Murphy’s vision.
Every Costume Had To Be Just Right
Because there are so many real figures in Hotel—or characters very closely based on real figures—Lou Eyrich and her team had to do a lot of research. She had to find inspiring images and newspaper clippings from the time period and present them to Ryan Murphy, who selected those he felt fit with each character’s style.
Then she had to create outfits that he liked, she liked, and the actors could move well in. Because so many of the costumes would be used in stunt work, multiples had to be made to account for the abuse they’d take. The finishing touches were the small details for each character, such as the fact that the Countess always wore her hair slicked back when she hunted to prevent blood splatter on it.
The Sets Mirrored The Costumes
Mark Worthington, who worked as the production designer on Hotel, had to come up with just the right design palate to telegraph the grandeur of the Cortez Hotel without overshadowing the distinct characters in it. The Art Deco style, with its unique geometric shapes and sharp angles, had the dramatic flair but also the minimalism he needed.
There are subtle references to the characters in the series, such as a column carving of a venus flytrap that is meant to evoke Lady Gaga’s Countess and her ensnaring nature. The grand staircase was created to not take focus away from the elevator, which is where so many costume reveals occurred when the doors drew open.
Liz Taylor Had Several Elizabeth Taylor References
The character of Liz Taylor borrows more from the famous Hollywood starlet than just her name! The costumes designed by Lou Eyrich were meant to mimic a very specific time in Elizabeth Taylor’s life, that being the 70s, when the shine of her star had begun to wane, she wasn’t acting, and she wore flowing caftans to hide her growing figure.
Liz Taylor is similarly in an “Aging Starlet” phase, where she feels unloved, ugly, and unworthy of the adoration she so clearly craves. She still manages to evoke grace, beauty, and poise, but her confidence is feigned. She’s insecure, depressed, and has lost sight of her reason to go on living. Luckily the real Liz Taylor had a big comeback in the 80s, which you can see in the character’s more structured pieces.
The Countess’ Glove Is Based On A Real Accessory
The dazzling glove that Countess Elizabeth uses to slash the throats of her victims is not only a knockout prop but a wickedly elegant accessory to many of her most elegant costumes. Since she isn’t a “real vampire,” but a longtime sufferer of an ancient blood virus, she doesn’t drain her victims with fangs, but with the sharp nails at the end of the glove.
The glove itself was based on the Contra Mundum, a piece of wearable art created by Daphne Guinness and jewelry designer Shaun Leane. It was meant to evoke the armor of a weapon and the beauty of an evening glove and is made from 18c white gold as well as 5,000 white diamonds. It sadly doesn’t have the nifty mechanism for having razor-sharp nails pop out of its fingertips.
